Officers are investigating the circumstances of a mental health related arrest of one man in Abbotsford last week.
The Independent Investigations Office of BC (IIO) says the Abbotsford Police Department responded to a report of a man threatening people and damaging property in a residential building on Riverside Road on Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024.
Police say when they arrived at the residential unit, the man locked himself inside, and the officers’ attempts to get him out were unsuccessful.
Later, they saw a fire inside the unit and “used force to enter the dwelling.”
“There was an interaction and officers used less-lethal force,” the IIO said, in a release Wednesday.
Investigators say the man was detained under the Mental Health Act and taken to hospital where his injuries were determined.
“Initial investigative steps will seek to confirm the extent of the man’s injuries and whether they meet the threshold of serious harm as defined in Part 11 of the Police Act,” they said.
The IIO is asking anyone with information about this incident to contact the Witness Line toll-free at 1-855-446-8477 or through the contact form on the iiobc.ca website.